Getting Caught Up.

I have been enjoying my summer vacation. Nothing really to take pictures of, I have been de-cluttering and deep cleaning. Its been six years since we moved here in July. I still had boxes that I had not unpacked. It was just too painful to look in them. I knew what was in them. Memories. I run from those.

Too many memories. I didn't have the strength to deal with them. My daughter made a comment of the things she dreaded to do if something happened to me. It made me start thinking. I knew it was time for me to deal with those boxes. I had to harden my heart and do it one box at a time. I have so many boxes of photographs. My goodness.
 

One of the things I did was go through the boxes of my I guess you would call my portfolio of past rugs.

My goodness, when I was selling all of my rugs, I sold some cute rugs. I thought it might be fun to go back and rehook those that I don't have anymore. I was surprised how many rugs were of my own design. I ended up thinking about why and when I stopped doing that. The only cupboard I haven't taken a good look at is my rug cupboard. I really need to deal with that one. I go through it every season when I change out rugs for the house. So I do get into it more than the other ones. I also am always checking to make sure moths don't find it. I have this fear that all of this work I have done will end up at Good Will.  I have boxes of counted cross stitch things I have never done anything with. Finished ones, except not framed or turned into cute things. If it means sewing. 

Not much else is going on, just me trying to get things cleaned and ordered. So far, this May has been just perfect weather. I am sure that it will change but its just been such a nice month. 

I used to do a Thankful Thursday post, in my ancient blogging days. I think on this Thursday I am thankful for JOY. I can't wait to wake up every morning to see what kind of special gifts are around every corner for me. 

~"My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:2

I hope your day is lovely too.

~Kim~
 

Back Home

 We are back home again. It was a lovely time, but always so wonderful to get back home. We did so much exploring this trip. We saw things that we have never saw before. The little town this was in is called Los Osos. This was a hike we were going to take, but the ticks were too bad and we didn't want to chance it with Polly, plus I hate ticks! This picture above is at Black Mountain.

We found this lovely little walk in a place called Elfin Forest. Its at the end of a neighborhood. If I lived there I would come here every day. 

It gets its name from these oak trees. They only grow here and they are so old but so interesting. So we walked and walked there and did this walk twice. It smelled like sagebrush. There are tidal marshes on the other side and its a bird sanctuary. 

I couldn't help but call it the dead marshes after Lord of The Rings. I could see in my mind all of those faces that Frodo sees in the movie. I had to turn off the video in my mind every time I looked down at it. On the other side is the ocean so it would be interesting to see what it does in a storm. 

As we were driving through the town, we ran across this adorable house. I love the fence.
 

All the way around it the fence had tulips. We drove around it to see it and we found this on one street. 

It had a windmill on the outside of the house. It was really very Dutch. I wished I could have walked around it. 

That was the cutest house I have ever seen before. The streets were all up and down hill. It was so fun to find it. 

Then we drove out to Montana De Oro. There was this lovely farm house, which like everything now is being owned by the park service. But at one time was a family owned farm. One of the first settlers in the area. Now its a gift shop.
 

I thought it was such a sweet little farm house. What an incredible place it must have been to grow up at.

But then the view from the other side of the house was incredible. Imagine waking up every day to see this.

It was lovely to stand there and see how pretty everything looked and maybe hasn't changed to much.

My brain feels so rested and so happy to be home. We planted flowers today and it was so nice to have work to do. I think that is the problem with me and vacation. I think I just enjoy work. It was nice though to have no work except walking Polly and seeing if I could try and sew and hook and read all of the stuff I brought to do. I couldn't. 

I hope if you celebrate Mother's Day its a lovely one. 

~Kim~
 

Let Summer Begin

 

Its official! My first day of summer vacation begins now. My goodness what a year! You know I have these thoughts, first I would just like to sleep late, then the thought comes, " but I love early morning before the sun comes up, the sky and it turns from dark blue to pink and the sun comes up over the mountains. To sit in my chair, listen to the birds and drink my first cup of coffee, has to be my very favorite time of morning. To miss that is just not something I ever want to do. I think its because I am nosy and I might miss something important. 

I have all kinds of projects that I have been putting off. I have patterns coming out my ears. 

I want to finish this rug. I feel like I have neglected it. Nothing should ever take as long as I have taken hooking this rug. Notice my very cute helper.

She is bored. She doesn't normally do this but I didn't feel like moving her. She is such a very nice dog and I don't have to leave her now. She gets so depressed. 

I thought I would do some embroidery. I am so rusty not having done it in a few years. I found this cute pattern and I am going to work on that a bit.

Isn't that cute? I just had to sit down and do a few stitches the other day. Its so nice to do what I learned to do as a little girl sitting next to my Mom. She was such a amazing woman. She made all of her clothes on the treadle sewing machine I have. I still remember the sound as she would sew on it. 

Now I have to talk about a book. Have you read or heard about The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower? They are on Kindle Unlimited for free right now. There are currently eight volumes.

" The year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian's But Emma's plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian's."

I am afraid I have become such a fan girl. My goodness, I have read them I think five times now. I don't know when I have read a book that I finish and I go back and start over. If that isn't bad enough I have it on Audible and I listen to it in the car. I keep pondering why this series has captured me so much other than its just a sweet story. I can't get anyone to read it so I decided I would write about it and see if I can get anyone interested just to see if I am off my rocker. Beth Brower posted this picture in her latest substack and I just yelled " Oh my gosh, Ron its Emma!" He just raised his eyebrow. He already knows I am around the bend. Other than my My Bible, if I was stranded on a desert island, If I had the Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, I would be content. The ninth volume should be coming out this summer. 

The tablet works wonders. I was able to get current pictures on it so I will be in business. I hope this post finds you well and happy. 

I am currently making lists of all of the summer things I want to get done. Life is so nice right now. After the storm, comes that stillness that fills my heart with joy.

~Kim~

 

April Showers

 

This is a practice post

I got a new tablet so I wanted to see how easy it would be to write a post. I think it would be nice to blog when I am not home.

So far except for the keyboard.  It seems very compatible. 

This might be fun. I hope you have a lovely day. May is almost here. Two more days and it's summer for me.

Trial is now over, I can do this,

Kim 

 

When Life Gives You Flowers.

I think the best part about April are the surprises that show up. When the lilac is doing its job of quietly blooming in the part of the yard I rarely go, and then there it is the sweetest smell and the lovely flowers just blooming for all they are worth. I was telling my daughter why its so hard to take pictures here. At our other place, the light was this buttery golden color. I loved the light. I couldn't stay away from it. I would look out the window and all of the light would be calling me to come and see it I could capture it with my camera. 

I don't want to say that the sun is wrong here. But it is. At my other house and all of the other houses I lived in before, they faced the rising of the sun in the morning and the sun setting in the back of the house in the evening. Here this house is sort of north/south,east. When the wind blows it goes around and around as do the clouds. The sun never glows like it did because I can only see it if I stand on something. Its things like that I have never noticed before and I sit and think about it. Especially, in the morning as I try to see the sun come up, but I can't unless I go stand on the end of the driveway like a weirdo and look to the sunrise.

Its spring and of course, my mind turns to chicks. I have even thought about sneaking off to Tractor Supply to look at them. I had a friend that lived in New York City and they were from another country and she said, that when they moved to New York, her mom kept three hens under her kitchen sink. I guess that is kind of like Robert Lee who kept a chicken with him while he was on the battlefield when he was in the War of Northern Aggression. ( I read that in a book, I had never heard that before.) I don't know if I could keep them under my kitchen sink.

This is our Comfrey growing in our garden. Aren't the little flowers with tiny bells sweet? Most amazing plant ever. Which reminds me, we will be celebrating our 46th wedding anniversary this weekend. What a incredible and fast 46 years! I told Ron today, thank you for putting up with me these 46 years. He said, that I had to put up with him too. We are agreed its been way more interesting that we originally anticipated. He was going to be a songwriter and we were going to live life out of a hippy van on the beach. We were going to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. I am so glad we didn't end up living out of a van on the beach.  We had such a normal, fun life. If you can say, that homeschooling six kids for 25 years, and having 15 grand children. Well you know.  

I am certainly glad that I am right here, right now. Even if the light isn't always golden, the days are mostly full of smiles and dreams that are beyond anything that I ever thought of and life does like life does, it sneaks up and surprises me when I least expect it and laughter is always around every corner. 

Thank you for stopping by to read my rambles. 

Happy April,

~Kim~
 

 

 

 

 
 

Happy Easter

 

Happy Easter 

My favorite picture for Easter. I always love the idea of the women walking early in the morning to prepare the body for burial. As they walk, they are each thinking to themselves, " How will we roll away the stone?" I imagine that their hearts are heavy and the tears they have cried have left them spent and exhausted. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

I love to think that after Jesus cries, " It is finished" His body is handled by only those who love Him. When the women get to that tomb, I think of them standing there unable to move, spell bound, and you know how when you see things you can't explain, your mind just goes blank. I think that is what they must have done. 

The passage reads this way, "
And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.…"

 

" …He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you." And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples.…"

But the gospel of Mark adds a special gift to Peter, " Mark 16:7
But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'" I always love that part," and Peter". Jesus, has just gone through the agony of dying on a cross, all of the worlds sins, past, present and future placed upon his body, broken  and yet, He still takes time to say, " And Peter."

 The story never grows old for me. To me it is full of joy, because I know how great are the sins I commit every day and how many I have committed since the beginning of me, and I am thankful that if not for the shed blood of Jesus shed for me, I would have no hope.

Still when I get to heaven there are going to be a few things I will ask about that day. "And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.…"

Not only did just Jesus come back from the dead, so did apparently others who were walking around. I would love to know all about that.

 

  I wish you a wonderful day, I always love this day, more than any other day in the year.
I hope you have a lovely day, filled with joy,
~Kim~

"…When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher).…"
---John 20:15--- 

 

Now April

Happy April!

I have spent days trying to get new photos to my blog. I finally gave up and decided to just write with photos from the past. Today was a lovely spring day. We finally had rain last night so today is a puffy cloud day. We had a mixed up month March was like April, and who knows what April will be. I still love April though, the new lacy green leaves, the lovely smell of growing. I have some peppers and tomatoes growing under lights. I am pondering what other lovely things I can plant. Maybe some zinnias. 

We went for a week to the beach. It was fantastic. No people to speak of and we had the beach to ourselves. The weather was perfect and I did hook and I did do counted cross stitch. I did read. But we walked the most. We had Polly with us and she loves the beach. I also cooked. For some odd reason, I always feel like when we are camping in the trailer, I am back to playing house. I loved play houses as a child and I always could make one that would keep me busy and my grandparents farm always had something growing. So I could make dinners out of walnuts, pecans, or pinon nuts. 
 

When I was in kindergarten, In the corner of the class room was the cutest little house. I always wanted to play in it. The play house would be a total mess, and that was when the teacher would let me play in it to clean it up. She would say, "Kim, would you like to clean the play house?" I always did. So when we go camping I have that same memory and I finally get to play house to my hearts content. 

We walk that path 2 or 3 times a day. There are so many things to watch. The sea changes color with the different times of day. It was during a heat wave so it was about 75 every day. It was lovely. I can't show you any of my hooking because I can't figure out how to get my pictures to my computer. 

I am still around though. Its been a delightful week. Only four more weeks and I am off for the summer. I can hardly wait. 

~Kim~
  

Almost March

Spring is here! I find it nearly impossible to stay in the house when the birds are singing, and the hummingbirds are collecting spider webs to make nests. The flowers are beginning to open. The ground is so wet that as I traipse around the yard, I go through shoes because they are sopping wet. I should be wearing my rubber boots. Its a lovely time of year. 

My one finish of February. It should have only took me a week or so and it took the whole month. But its finished now. I worked a tiny bit on my turkey rug yesterday. It was the first time I picked up a hook in almost six weeks. 

Our oldest son Ben came home from North Carolina. We were celebrating the home going of my nephew, his cousin. He drove from there. He left from his house on a Tuesday and got here on Friday. Then drove back home last Monday and got back to his house on Wednesday. Its about 4000 miles give or take. We had the kids who live here all together on Sunday. It ended up being a perfect day. Only our oldest daughter wasn't here. But it was a gift to me and Ron to have them all sitting in the back yard laughing and joking. To get to have dinner together, just the brief lovely visit. Life is so filled with bittersweet moments. " Through my deepest waters, hottest fires and darkest valleys God has taught me the deepest and the most eternal lessons."( Elisabeth Ellot) I guess for the time being I am in school again.

This is from my garden and my Cilantro which is going to seed. This silly plant went crazy this year. Its loved the fog and the cold. There is no way I could eat that much. Our Celery went crazy too. 

Those lovely big stalks. My daughter said that when celery goes to seed it looks like Queen Anne's Lace. I am half playing with that to see it go to seed. We have to drive a long way before we see that growing in the wild. 

I hope with it being March tomorrow. There will lots more time to do those things I love to do. I hope your spring begins to show its pretty head as the ground begins to warm up. I know I will fall for it. I do every year. Thinking winter is gone and spring is here to stay. Then March, who is very fickle will blow and be so cold.

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and when wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade." (Charles Dickens, Great Expectations)

 

The little Japanese Maples are beginning to bloom. I have very slowly let my mind dream of gardens.

Very carefully, to dream of flowers and tomato plants, of food I would love to grow. Of, plans to make of summer and the wonders I feel when once again I have the energy to be creative. To find the joy in the gifts that come each day. To focus on what it looks like to have a whole field of dreams. "There is no month like March for making one believe in second changes."(Charles Dickens)

 

I hope your days are filled with blue skies, only occasional clouds and lots and lots of blessings.

~Kim~ 

 

 

The Blue of the Sky is Bigger than the Clouds.

Its almost Valentines Day. What another week it has been. The company my husband worked for was sold to a competitor. This week was the week when they tell you if you made the cut. Ron did, thankfully.  I have to tell you my little story about how the Lord works when you don't even know.

    Two years ago, the company Ron worked for was bought by a bigger company. During the merger process he watched a lot of people be let go. He had applied for a job with the bigger company and a smaller one, and got offers from both. He actually worked for the bigger company for a week before he got the final offer from the smaller company, a better offer, which he took. Last year, the bigger company bought the smaller company and he had to go through it again. Yesterday, the bigger company called to tell him he had a job. They had never filled the position he had for that week, and he back-filled that same position. The position he left was still open all that time. Just writing it out makes my head still feel weird.

There is this verse in Habakkuk 1:5. I know most people don't read much devotional stuff from there but it happens to be one of my favorite books. Because Habakkuk asks God three questions and God answers him. So I love that. Here is my verse.

 "The Lord replied, Look around at the nations; Look and be amazed!For I am doing something in your own day something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it"
 

Lots of very hard things have gone on, but I am still amazed at how God continues to work in our lives.

I wanted to share this latest thing that happened. Really, if I posted the stuff that goes on every day or week, I don't know if my blogger friends would believe it either. 

So the reason for this post is its almost Valentines Day and I love making Valentines rugs and I wanted to post some. 

When I was going to do our challenge rug, which I think today was the day. I thought I was going to use these reds for that. Not remembering I had used the reds for this rug. It wasn't till I dug this out, I thought, oh, that is where all of my red went.
 

I had to dig through my stash to find different reds. Its okay though, it was good to see how well my de-stashing is going. I still have to many worms but its as not as bad as it used to be. Though I don't think I will ever win that battle. 

This one is on my coffee table now. I made it one year when I wanted a rectangle for said rug. It always makes me happy when I can get my heart rugs out. 

This is a Cammie Bruce rug. I think I have done this rug twice. I also did it in blue. I enjoy this size rug. I can hook them really fast. Or at least I used to be able to until you know, my life for the last six years has been nuts. 

 We are going to finish up working in our last flowerbed and trim trees tomorrow. To me that is my favorite kind of romance. Working together and getting things done. 

I really like this verse when it comes to Valentines Day, "Love suffers long and is kind." 1 Corinthians 13:4 It always says it best for me. I hope your day is lovely, we will have our Presidents Day storm starting on Monday. We always get one big storm this time of year. Roads get closed, the mountains are covered in snow, the wind blows and its just lovely. Then March comes and its spring for us. 

Have a lovely week,

~Kim~
 
 

February- Once a month posts.

 Happy February! I hope the cold hasn't been to hard on you. You can tell this is a California bird. He looked so cold, I just had to stop and bother him by taking his picture. You know, my 2025 was hard, scary and really when I wrote my post for 2026, I thought I would be turning the page. I did, I just didn't know it would be a continuation of 2025. 

So needless to say, in order for me to be creative, I need a peaceful life. I don't have the brain space to do much creative things. I did dye wool last week.  

I was going for feathers for my newest rug I am working on. My daughter Emilie drew it out for me in October. 
 

I got that much done before I had to stop to dye wool. It isn't that dark. Plus you if you didn't know, I love hooking my kids art work. I guess you could say this is my newest project. 

I did finish this rug. I haven't bound it yet. Its on the list of things to do this week. Right after I finish my front flowerbed. I only have one flowerbed left. Then my spring training will be finished for awhile. Hopefully a beach trip is in my future. Maybe March. I hope. 

This is a rug pattern from Two Old Crows. Just because I have had it for a such a long time. I really wanted to hook it to hang on my walls. Now, it will maybe live in a cupboard for awhile. It also looks darker in the picture.

We haven't seen to many blue skies this winter. We have had lots of fog. When we have got a blue sky and the shine shines I just have to be outside. I can't even begin to imagine snow. I realize how Californian I have become. We are in February now, so hopefully as the days get longer each day, winter will loosen its grip. 

"The blue of heaven is larger than the clouds, Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.

It's about learning to dance in the rain." I wish I could give credit for those sayings but I just wrote them down in my journal and I didn't leave a name with it. My nephew passed away last week. 

Its been sort of a nightmare week. He had a brain tumor and now he is healed and in no more pain. 

I am glad I have hope that we will see him again. Its just grief is such a hard thing. 

I haven't had words to write. Nor the will to hook. I just wanted you to know, that I am here, just out in the space I have been living for the last half of year. 

So, I keep asking the Lord," to teach me to dance in the rain." 

Have a wonderful week,

~Kim~